New analysis reveals Devon universities could lose millions of pounds of research grants because of Brexit.

Universities risk losing access to funds from the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, totalling almost £1 billion for the South West, which currently supports projects, such as into sustainable energy and work to cure lung disease.

So far £102 million has been distributed in the South West, including:

£13.4M to the University of Exeter for a five-year project, which will test a new wave energy converter off the north coast of Cornwall.

£2.4M to Plymouth’s Peninsula School of Medicine and Dentistry, part of an international consortium, for a three-year project to prevent, diagnose and treat lung disease in low and middle-income countries.

£22.2M to the University of Bristol for research into reducing traffic congestion and poor air quality.

No guarantee has been given to universities that access to this funding will continue after Brexit.

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The People's Vote campaign, which conducted the analysis, says UK universities received the highest share of signed funding grant agreements (20%) - ahead of Germany, Spain, Italy and France. It says if EU funding continued at these levels it would see £8.3bn being invested in research and innovation in the UK, until 2020.

The People's Vote campaign wants the UK's Brexit 'deal' to be put to a public vote. However, critics say this is undemocratic, because the UK voted 'leave' in the EU referendum.